


Armor

by HK44



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Sibling Bonding, Sparring, Training, Weapons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:01:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24824254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HK44/pseuds/HK44
Summary: Nico never wore armor. Hazel didn’t understand it. Even in training, casually sparring, she made sure she had something to protect her chest, at the very least.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 55





	Armor

Nico never wore armor. Hazel didn’t understand it. Even in training, casually sparring, she made sure she had something to protect her chest, at the very least.

She darted back, swinging her scythe over her head like Mors taught her. When he’d seen her in action, Nico made her watch some cute little cartoon - _anime,_ she remembered - about a girl who also had one.

Suffice to say, she had immediately attempted some of the moves from the show in her alone time.

Hazel leaned back, carefully watching Nico prowl a few feet ahead of her. She was always going to be much shorter than everyone else, so her range with the scythe was a lot more impressive than when she’d used her sword and didn’t require getting up close and personal.

Nico didn’t have that many feet on him either. In hindsight, it was funny. Their father towered over them, his natural height a mumbled seven foot something, kept down to a shorter six foot six at the behest of his wife, who topped out at average height.

Hazel’s mother wasn’t tall but she _was_ average height too. She didn’t have any clue about Nico’s mother but he said she was a dancer so she could only imagine someone thin and tall, wafish.

Like an elf.

How that combined into one person barely surpassing five feet and another topped out at five three was beyond her understanding.

But it did make her giggle whenever she thought about it.

She admires the distance between them. This was a weapons-only battle. No other magics allowed. It still thrummed in her fingertips to blind him, to change his perspective and gain the upper hand.

It wouldn’t work that well but it would let her shorten the distance between them once more. Nico, unlike anyone else she’d met, had a strange way about him. He was not impervious to other magics but it never seemed to quite stick with him.

Wildly guessing, she figured maybe it was from being raised in the Underworld. Surrounded by godly level magic on a daily. Maybe he was just good at breaking out of the control of others. Maybe, like some mortals and Mist, the difference was evident.

Maybe it was just because he was Nico.

Whatever the reason, she was proud. It gave her a way to keep improving. And he was always willing to be her training dummy when asked.

She licked her lips and swung her scythe down to the ground. The force of it rattled the earth. Nico jerked, off guard, looking around wildly, surprised.

She charged forward.

She eased up on the last few steps, seeing Nico turn back to face her, far too late, and grinned viciously. A gentle touch, a threatening pose against his neck, chest, whatever, and he was out.

Too bad the rocks under her feet had other plans.

She swore as she tripped, her scythe flying out of her hand as she reached out to catch herself before she hit her face. She looked up, watched with distant horror as her scythe shot forward the extra two feet, Nico stilled to the ground, a victim.

Her hand shot out, magic and shadows curling up around her wrist. It spiralled forward like a whip but missed the end of her scythe. It sank deep into Nico’s chest.

And came barreling out the other side.

She stared, mouth gaped, tears springing to her eyes.

Then Nico walked forward, slow and languid and put his sword under her chin. “I win,” he said.

She stared at him. Definitely alive. Super alive. She looked at her scythe. Looked back at him. Looked at her scythe. Then at the dirt beneath her face.

“Wait.”

She held up a finger.

“ _What the fuck?_ ”

Nico squatted and helped her up. She gathered her scythe back up. Twisting it upside down and pressing the blade into the ground, she shoved. It shrank down easy and she clipped the pendant into place around her neck.

Nico watched her amused. Slowly, she approached him. Squished his cheeks, checked his eyes, hefted his shirt up to look at his skinny scarred chest. No new wounds, no new scars.

It was like the weapon hadn’t even touched him.

She took a step back. “How dare you not tell me you died.”

He choked on a laugh. “I didn’t die.”

“Then what in the ever-loving _shit-”_

He laughed again and swung an arm around her shoulder. “Shadows,” he said quietly. “Easier than killing myself.”

She glared at him. She didn’t like that new technique in the slightest. She understood why he taught himself it but that didn’t mean she liked that he used it. Temporary could become permanent so fast.

Sheathing his sword, he lifted his hand in front of her face. Wordlessly, he twisted it. Then said, “Touch it.”

She reached out and made to clasp their fingers together but instead her hand sank right through. Between their skin, a thin shadow had erupted. On the other side of Nico’s hand, it had shot up as well, providing another exit for Hazel’s fingers.

Like a miniature shadow-travel.

She withdrew her hand. Slowly she reached out again and felt only skin.

“That’s cool.”

He nodded. “It’s harder to do though. And less automatic.”

She leaned into his side and they began walking back to the barracks. “It’s still magic though, right? Not like a blessing from Erebus or something.”

He hummed.

She grinned. “Then you cheated and I won.”

He scowled. “I would have died.”

“Whatever!” She flicked his earlobe. “I won!” She pulled away from him, grabbing both his hands and tugging him around in a circle. “Also you have to teach me that one.”

He rolled his eyes. “Fine.”

**Author's Note:**

> There needs to be more of Hazel and Nico hanging out together.


End file.
